Decorate

Just because I don't like Christmas doesn't mean I don't like other holidays!

Here's what you need:
1 styrofoam ring
1 strand of garland
3 or 4 floral picks
a few dabs of glue

What to do:
1. Wrap garland around foam ring
2. secure the ends with a few dabs of glue, let dry.
3. arrange the picks, secure with glue.

Tada!

Applique Your Heart Away

Kirigami, folding and cutting paper into decorative designs has always been something I've enjoyed. Snowflakes and paper doll chains are two of the most widely know examples. I decided to step my paper doll chain up a notch, and put it on a t shirt.



Materials:
- a t shirt, mine came from the 50% off clearance rack at Target
- 1/4 yd fabric to make your dolls from, mine is white knit
-about 1/4 yd of Fusi-knit
-a stencil, you can use cardboard, paper, plastic. I don't recommend paper because it's harder to trace.
-washable marker
-thread
-scissors
-pins


Directions:
1. Create your paper doll stencil. Fabric does not stay folded as well as paper does, making it more difficult to fold and cut out. I used a quilters' template to trace my paperdoll chain, then cut it out. The template is gridded, making it a little easier to

2. Iron the fusi-knit onto your "people fabric" The fusi-knit will keep your people from getting distorted while tracing, cutting and stitching them down. small pieces of knit are not always the easiest to work with, this will help tremendously.

3. Trace the pattern onto the fabric. I recommend tracing onto the side with the fusi-knit, but that's because I kind it easier.



4. Cut the people out.





5. Pin the people onto your shirt. It might be easier to accomplish this if you put something between the layers of the shirt. A piece of cardboard works well. You'll want to use plenty of pins.



6. Sew the people onto the shirt. You can be creative and use contrasting thread or keep everything the same colors, that's up to you. When sewing, I do recommend setting your machine to start and end with the needle in the fabric. Also, sew slow!



7. After everything is stitched in place, trim your threads.

Congratulations, you now have a paper doll chain shirt.

Knit on Knit

For Christmas (or Super Greed Day, which ever you prefer) this year I tried to make everyone's gifts. There were some exceptions, like the laundry basket that my grandmother actually needed, and the book my grandfather really wanted, but pretty much everyone else got something I made. (and, yes I do know how to weave a basket, just not one that will withstand a load of laundry)




Sometimes I do the appliques without interfacing, but of you apply some knit-fuse, it makes things so much easier. The shapes were made first and sewn on with a machine. The decorative embroidery was added later.

The clouds are actually silver and sparkle a bit!


One added bonus to this project, it gave me a chance to use some scraps and decorate some shirts, without feeling guilty about how much they cost.

I'm going to put step by step directions up here some day, I swear!

Just have to make stuff....and more stuff...and maybe more stuff.

Sometimes knitting needles get boring, so I made some a little more exciting.

The tops are made with Squinkies and some glue. I removed the tops of the knitting needles with some very old (and hard to use) bolt cutters. Really, I think these turned out pretty cute! And I'm very happy with the results!

As always there are things I'd do differently if I was going to do it again. I'd use plastic needles. Yep, that's it, some silly little change, and it's because I don't like metal needles.

I also made some stitch markers, to dd come class to the next project I make. To make these, You will need head bins, some smooth beads and the circle end of toggle style jewelry closures.

Are you ready for winter?

There's a little history to this project. Every year since about 2007 I've made a new winter-ish coat. Every year since then Amanda Foran has managed to dump an entire glass of beer on said coat. (It's okay, it was an accident, and I never minded smelling like decent beer.) Next semester I'll be teaching a class on pattern making, using a cool software program that integrates both fashion and CAD work. (Finally, those first two years of college are paying off!)

The program uses basic formed pieces and alters them for the modifications you chose. It's pretty neat. My second attempt was this coat, it's very fitted, fully lined and pretty girly. If I was going to do it over, I'd make it longer.

The class is also going to make patterns and other garments from scratch, meaning strictly numbers. Can't wait to see the things they come up with!

This is what having a kitchen is all about.

Sometimes you just have to buy a pomegranate, teach your grandma how to peel it and enjoy.

Sometimes you also have to chocolate cover half the seeds. That part didn't get photographed, it was a tad bit too messy to do with a camera in my hands.